Back to EveryPatent.com
United States Patent |
5,310,427
|
Manome
|
May 10, 1994
|
Method for transporting live fish
Abstract
A method for transporting live fish comprising the steps of cooling live
fish placed in water to bring the fish into a dormant state, and
transporting the line fish in a dormant state with an ambient temperature
thereof maintained at -1.degree. to 10.degree. C. This method may further
comprise the step of removing the water after the step of cooling live
fish.
By the method of the present invention, live fish can be successfully
transported even when the transportation takes many hours. Moreover,
transportation can be made at low cost.
Inventors:
|
Manome; Hiromichi (Chiba, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
856168 |
Filed:
|
April 2, 1992 |
PCT Filed:
|
August 2, 1991
|
PCT NO:
|
PCT/JP91/01035
|
371 Date:
|
April 2, 1992
|
102(e) Date:
|
April 2, 1992
|
PCT PUB.NO.:
|
WO92/02130 |
PCT PUB. Date:
|
February 20, 1992 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
119/201 |
Intern'l Class: |
A01K 061/00 |
Field of Search: |
119/3,4,5
|
References Cited
Foreign Patent Documents |
52-24900 | Feb., 1977 | JP.
| |
54-35100 | Mar., 1979 | JP.
| |
55-168174 | Dec., 1980 | JP.
| |
61-46 | Jan., 1986 | JP.
| |
62-138126 | Jun., 1987 | JP.
| |
1-144916 | Jun., 1989 | JP.
| |
1-182272 | Jul., 1989 | JP.
| |
2-150225 | Jun., 1990 | JP.
| |
2-245130 | Sep., 1990 | JP.
| |
Other References
Supplementary European Search Report, EEP 91 91 3664.
|
Primary Examiner: Mancene; Gene
Assistant Examiner: Price; Thomas
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Beveridge, DeGrandi, Weilacher & Young
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for transporting live fish, comprising the steps of:
cooling live fish placed in water to bring the fish into a dormant state,
removing the water within which the fish are placed, and, after removing
the water, transporting the live fish in the dormant state with the live
fish placed under an ambient temperature maintained at -1.degree. to
10.degree. C.
2. A method for transporting live fish according to claim 1, wherein the
live fish are cooled at a rate of 1.degree. C. per hour to 2.degree. C.
per hour.
3. A method for transporting live fish according to claim 1, wherein the
live fish are irradiated with far infrared rays during the step of cooling
the live fish.
4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising resuscitating the live
fish after transporting the live fish.
5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising aerating the water
within which the fish are placed during cooling of the water.
6. A method for transporting live fish, comprising the steps of:
soaking live fish in water contained in a heat-insulated container.
gradually cooling the live fish to bring the fish into a dormant state
without freezing the fish to death,
removing the water from the container and thereafter transporting to a
destination the live fish in a dormant state with the live fish placed
under an ambient temperature maintained at -1.degree. to 10.degree. C.,
and
resuscitating the live fish in the dormant state after the fish have
arrived at the destination.
7. A method for transporting live fish according to claim 6, further
comprising, after the step of cooling the live fish, the step of sealing
the container.
8. A method for transporting live fish according to claim 6, wherein the
live fish are cooled at a rate of 1.degree. C. per hour to 2.degree. C.
per hour.
9. A method for transporting live fish according to claim 6, wherein the
live fish are irradiated with far infrared rays during the step of cooling
the live fish.
10. A method for transporting live fish, comprising
cooling live fish contained in a body of water to bring the fish into a
dormant state;
separating the live fish from contact with water while maintaining said
fish dormant; and
transporting the live fish following separation of the live fish from the
water;
and maintaining the live fish in a dormant state during transportation by
placing the live fish under an ambient temperature maintained at
-1.degree. to 10.degree. C.
11. A method as recited in claim 10 wherein said body of water is confined
in an insulated container and separation of the fish from the body of
water includes draining the water from the container, and wherein
transporting the live fish includes transporting the fish in said
container after draining.
12. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising irradiating the
fish.
13. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising cooling the fish
while in the body of water at a rate of 1.degree. to 2.degree. C. per
hour.
14. A method as recited in claim 10 including sealing the insulated
container by adding an insulating cover and maintaining the fish dormant
during transportation by providing a cooling member which is contained in
the insulating cover.
15. A method as recited in claim 10 further comprising aerating the body of
water during cooling of the live fish.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for transporting live fish. More
particularly, the present invention relates to a method for transporting
live fish, in which live fish are brought into a dormant state in order
that they can be successfully transported even when the transportation
takes many hours and that the transportation can be made at low cost, and
a container for use in the method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Storage or transportation of fresh fish and shellfish has been made by
packing them in a container with crushed ice or salt ice without freezing
them. It is however impossible to resuscitate the fish and shellfish thus
stored or transported. For this reason, transportation of fish and
shellfish, and in particular, that of fish is recently made by placing
them in water to keep them alive.
However, in the above method, live fish swim about in a small container or
are shaken during the transportation, and so tend to be damaged. In
addition, it is necessary to transport a large quantity of water together
with fish. This method is therefore also disadvantageous in the
transportation cost. To reduce the transportation cost, an increased
number of live fish were placed in one container. However, after the fish
were transported in this manner, they were found to be more considerably
damaged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inventor of the present invention made studies in order to obtain a
method for transporting live fish, capable of keeping fish alive for a
long transportation time. As a result, it was found that live fish which
have been transported in a dormant state can be resuscitated after the
transportation. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis
of the above finding.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for
transporting live fish, capable of transporting live fish even when the
transportation takes many hours.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for
transporting live fish, capable of transporting live fish without using
water even when the transportation takes many hours.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a container
for use in the above methods for transporting live fish.
The method for transporting live fish according to the present invention
comprises the steps of cooling the live fish placed in water to bring the
fish into a dormant state, and transporting the live fish in the dormant
state placed under the ambient temperature thereof maintained at
-1.degree. to 10.degree. C.
The container apparatus for transporting live fish comprises a vessel made
of heat insulating material, a panel mounted on an inner surface of the
vessel for heating a content in the vessel, a lid made of heat insulating
material and used to close the vessel, one or more wire cages capable of
containing live fish, the cage or cages being placed or stacked in the
vessel, and means for admitting or discharging a cooling medium into and
out of the vessel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a container utilized in the method of
this invention and
FIG. 2 is an upper view of the container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, the term "fish" is intended to refer not only to fish
taxonomically classified but also to so-called "fishery products", and
includes, for instance, saltwater fish, freshwater fish, Crustacea,
shellfish and Reptilia.
In the method for transporting live fish according to the present
invention, live fish are first placed in water and then cooled, whereby
the fish are brought into a dormant state. In the present invention, live
fish in a dormant state are directed to live fish in such a state that the
fish are inactivated by a cooling treatment but can be resuscitated, that
is, through anabiosis, when warmed even after the fish are preserved at a
temperature of -1.degree. to 10.degree. C.
It is preferable to gradually cool the live fish placed in water so that
the fish will not be frozen to death. The cooling rate is preferably from
1.degree. C./hour to 2.degree. C./hour. The cooling of the live fish can
be carried out by, for instance, circulating water which has been cooled
by a proper means. To protect the fish from stress and from being frozen,
it is preferable to cool the fish with irradiation of far infrared rays.
Furthermore, it is also preferable to supply air (oxygen) into the water
by, for instance, exposing the water to air while the fish are cooled.
The cooling of the live fish is terminated when dormancy of the fish is
confirmed.
The live fish thus brought into the dormant state are transported with the
ambient temperature thereof maintained at -1.degree. to 10.degree. C. As
long as the ambient temperature is in the above range, the fish are kept
in the dormant state. It is therefore possible to transport the fish
without damaging or killing them, and to resuscitate the fish after
transportation. When the ambient temperature exceeds 10.degree. C., the
fish are activated and begin to struggle. As a result, the fish are
damaged or cannot survive for a long time any more. On the other hand,
when the ambient temperature is lower than -1.degree. C., there is a
possibility that the body temperature of the fish also drop below
-0.7.degree. C. or -0.8.degree. C. Fish once cooled to such a low
temperature cannot be easily resuscitated.
To maintain the ambient temperature at -1.degree. to 10.degree. C., the
temperature of water in which the fish are placed is controlled within
this range. It was unexpectedly found that even when the fish in the
dormant state are placed in the air of -1.degree. to 10.degree. C. after
the water surrounding the fish is removed or the fish are pulled out from
the water, the fish are kept in a dormant state and can be readily
transported. A method in which water is removed and only fish in the
dormant state are transported is advantageous from the viewpoint of the
transportation cost because it can decrease the weight of the load. This
method is particularly suitable for air transportation.
There is no limitation for the duration of the transportation as long as
the fish are substantially in the dormant state. However, a feasible
transportation time is, in general, approximately 20 hours at the longest,
although this varies depending on the kind of fish and also on the
temperature of the atmosphere in which the fish are placed during the
transportation.
After transportation, the live fish in the dormant state can be
resuscitated. The resuscitation of the fish can be easily conducted by,
for instance, warming the water in which the fish are placed. Instead of
warming the water or while warming the water, it is also preferable to
irradiate far infrared rays to the fish. In the case where the fish have
been transported without being placed in water, water (freshwater or
saltwater) with a temperature almost the same as the temperature of the
atmosphere in which the fish have been placed during the transportation is
preferably poured onto the fish, and the water then warmed. In this case,
it is also preferable to irradiate far infrared rays to the fish instead
of warming the water or while warming the water.
All kinds of fishes can be transported by the transportation method of the
present invention. In the case of air transportation, the method of the
present invention is particularly suitable for transporting of crucian
carp, carp, eels, flatfish, Fugu rubripes rubripes, echinoids, lobsters,
crabs and the like.
A container utilized in this invention will be described with reference to
FIGS. 1 and 2.
In FIG. 1, the transporting container body is designated by A, and a
cooling unit removably mounted on the container body is designated by B. A
transporting container A has a vessel (water tank) which comprises a heat
insulating sheet made of a heat polyurethane foam sandwiched between glass
fiber reinforces plastic sheets. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, infrared ray
generating panels 2 are mounted on the inner peripheral wall of the water
tank for heating the inside of the water tank. The water tank 1 has a
water inlet port 3 removably communicated with a water feed port 23 of the
cooling unit B formed at the upper portion of the lefthand side wall
through a connecting member 29, water outlet port 4 removably communicated
with a pump suction port 27 of the cooling unit formed at the lower
portion of the lefthand side wall through a connecting member 30, and a
water discharge opening which can be opened and closed and provided at the
bottom for discharging the water in the water tank when the container is
transported without water. The top of the water tank is covered with a lid
7 made of similar heat insulating material to that of the water tank. A
container 8 for accommodating a cold storage agent is installed in the lid
7. The cold storage accommodating container 8 is used to accommodate such
a cooling agent as dry ice; a mixture of ice and salt; and iced
water-absorb polymer containing water. The cold storage agent can be
substituted by a suitable cooling means, such as an electric refrigerator.
The inside wall of the water tank 1 has a thermometer 9 for detecting a
temperature of the inside of the water tank. A carriage 10 having grooves
for engaging a fork-lift at its lower surface is secured to the outer
surface of the bottom of the water tank 1.
The cooling unit B comprises an aerating chamber 12 containing therein an
aerating device 13, and an air bubble removing chamber 15 communicated
with aerating chamber 12 through a baffle wall 14 having a bubble port 16
at its upper portion. A generator chamber 17 containing an electric
generator for supplying electric current to an air pump and a cooling
machine. A communicating port 18 formed at the upper portion of the baffle
wall which partitions the aeration chamber 12 and a cooling and purifying
chamber 20, the communication port 18 being opened at a position lower
than the air bubble port 16, the communication port 18 communicating with
the port 24 of the cooling and purifying chamber 12 through a passage 19.
The passage 19 is constituted by a first baffle wall having the
communication port 18 at its upper end and a second baffle wall in
parallel with the first baffle wall and having a communicating port 24 at
its lower end.
The upper chamber and the lower chamber of the cooling and purifying
chamber 20 are communicated through a filtering chamber 21, and the upper
chamber has the cooling chamber 22 at its upper portion and a water feed
port 23 which can be opened and closed. At the lower portion of one side
of the chamber 21 is formed a passage 24 communicated with the port 18 via
the passage 19, whereas the other side lower portion of the chamber is
provided a circulating pump P having a discharge side communicated with
the lower portion of the aerating device 13 through a pipe 26.
The filtering chamber 21 is filled with material which adsorbs and filters
such substances and contaminants which are harmful to live fish as sand,
activated carbon, coral, granules of ceramics, acryl fibers, and the like.
A substance or device which cools water is contained in the cooling chamber
22, for example, a cooling medium as dry ice, a mixture of ice and salt,
or an electric refrigerating machine.
The feed water port 23 which can be opened and closed and through which the
cooled water is provided, is removably connected to feed water port 3 of
the water tank 1 contained in the transporting container A through a
connecting member 29. The passage 24 passes aerated water from the
aerating chamber 12 to the bottom of the cooling purifying chamber 20
through the passage 19. The lid of cooling chamber 22 can be provided with
a suitable number of small vent holes.
Drain cocks 28 for draining water are provided for the air bubble removing
chamber 15 and aerating chamber 12, respectively. There are also provided
a carriage 31 for supporting the transporting container A and cooling unit
B connected thereto. Net cages, if desired, are superposed one upon the
other in the water tank 1 of the transporting container A, and a
supporting frame 33 supports superposed wire cages.
The water tank can be made of a strong and light material having heat
insulating property instead of the heat insulating plate described above.
A method for transporting live fish using the device described above will
be described as below.
Aircraft Transportation
At first, the water inlet port 3 of the water tank 1 in the transporting
container A and the port 23 are communicated with each other by a
connecting member 29. In the same manner, the water discharge port 4 of
water tank 1 and the water feed port 27 of the cooling unit B are also
communicated with each other by a connecting member 30. The water tank 1
is filled with sea water. 20 of wire cages each having a depth of 5 cm and
containing 100 flatfish are stacked. After adjusting the water level to
that shown by dotted lines (see FIG. 1). The generator of the cooling unit
B is started to operate the circulating pump P and the aerating device 13.
Then the sea water in the water tank 1 was sent to the lower portion of
the aerating chamber 12 through the water discharge port 4 and pipe 26,
and the sea water was aerated. Air bubbles formed as the result of the
aeration are caused to enter into the air bubble removing chamber 15
through the air bubble passage 16. On the other hand, sea water
supplemented with oxygen is admitted into the lower section of the cooling
and purifying chamber 20 through the upper communicating port 18, the
passage 19 and the lower communicating port 24, and the level of the sea
water rises. While rising, the sea water flows through the purifying and
filtering chamber 21 to be removed with harmuul substances and then flows
into the upper chamber and cooled with the cooling chamber 22 containing
dry ice. Then the sea water thus purified is sent to the water tank 1
through the feed water port 23 and the water inlet port 3.
The cooling treatment described above was conducted at a rate of 1.degree.
to 2.degree. C. per hour. When a temperature of the sea water was
5.degree. C., the flatfish were brought into a dormant state. The cooling
treatment was then stopped. The water feeding port, the water receiving
port and the water discharging port were closed, and the connecting
members were disengaged to separate the cooling unit B. Then, the cold sea
water in the water tank 1 was discharged through the discharge port 5 at
the bottom. Immediately thereafter, the heat insulating lid containing a
cold storage agent (iced water-absorb polymer containing water sold under
trademark, JAL JET ICE) was closed. The transporting container thus
separated was disposed in an air transporting container and transported
for 30 hours by aircraft.
The temperature of an inside of the water tank 1 was maintained at
10.degree. to -1.degree. C. while being monitored with a temperature
sensor. After transportation, the temperature in the inside of the water
tank 1 was maintained at substantially the same temperature after
subjecting to the cooling treatment, by the heat insulating water tank and
the heat insulating lid containing the cold storage agent.
After transportation, sea water at a temperature of about 1.degree. C. was
admitted into the water tank 1 and irradiated with far infrared rays, the
flatfish which had been in the dormant state were resuscitated and
suitable for eating as live fish.
Land Transportation
In the case of land transportation, the transporting container A and the
cooling unit B are used as a combined unit. After filling the water tank 1
with sea water, the aerating device and the pump were operated to aerate,
purify and cool the sea water contained in the water tank 1. 20 of the
wire cages containing 100 of flatfish were put into the sea water. The sea
water was cooled and circulated until the flatfish were brought into an
inactive state, that is, the dormant state. The transporting container and
the cooling unit were loaded on a railway car together with the supporting
frame, while the container and the cooling unit were connected. During
transportation, the sea water was maintained at a temperature of 5.degree.
C. by cooling.
After transportation, the pump and aeration device were stopped and then
irradiated with far infrared rays, upon which the flatfish swam actively.
Transportation Using Fresh Water
After filling the water tank 1 with fresh water, 20 of the carp were put
into the fresh water. While blowing air into the water and irradiating far
infrared rays, the carp were brought into the dormant state by slowly
cooling with cold water. When the carp became dormant, the blowing air and
the cooling treatment was stopped. After discharging the water, a heat
insulating lid containing a cold storing agent was closed. The temperature
in the water tank after the cooling treatment was 6.degree. C. obtained by
the temperature sensor.
The temperature in the water tank applied with the lid was always
maintained at a temperature of about 6.degree. C. After transportation,
fresh water was admitted into the water tank and this tank was used as a
fresh preserve. Then carp were resuscitated and began to swim.
Land transportation can also be made by using trucks instead of railway
cars.
Although in the foregoing embodiment stacked wire cages were used, a single
wire cage is sufficient in certain cases.
According to the method of transporting live fish according to the
invention, since live fish brought into a dormant state by gradual cooling
are transported at low temperature of -1.degree. to 10.degree. C., not
only is the transportation made more stably but also the live fish can be
readily resuscitated after transportation.
Furthermore, according to the transporting container of this invention, it
is possible to gradually cool the live fish by supplementing oxygen into
the heat insulating water tank containing live fish and by circulating
purified cold water, thus enabling the live fish to be cooled to the
dormant state without giving stress to the live fish. With the heat
insulating lid, the live fish can be safely transported while maintaining
a low temperature in the interior of the water tank. When the live fish in
the dormant state are resuscitated, anabiosis of the live fish can readily
be made by irradiation of far infrared rays.
When the transporting container of this invention is used, the
transportation of live fish in the dormant state and anabiosis thereof can
be readily performed.
Top